NEW YORK – Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) on Tuesday named Paul Jacobs (search) as chief executive officer to succeed his father, Irwin Jacobs (search), who will remain chairman of the wireless technology company he founded.
Paul Jacobs, 42, who will assume the CEO position on July 1, currently serves as executive vice president and president of Qualcomm's Wireless and Internet Group.
Investors have long expected Paul Jacobs, who has been a member of Qualcomm's executive committee since 1992, to succeed his 71-year-old father, according to Legg Mason analyst Cody Acree.
"The writing's been on the wall for a long time and Paul's been more than qualified." Acree said, adding that he does not expect Jacobs to make "any major strategic directional changes."
In addition, Qualcomm, which develops the CDMA mobile technology (search) used in mobile phones, said President and Chief Operating Officer Tony Thornley will retire. Steven Altman, who is currently executive vice president and president of Qualcomm Technology Licensing, will become company president.
In a separate statement Qualcomm said on Tuesday it raised its quarterly dividend to 9 cents per share from 7 cents, and doubled its share repurchase authority to $2 billion.
The dividend is payable after March 25, the company said. Its previous $1 billion stock repurchase plan expired Feb. 9.
Qualcomm shares were down 27 cents at $37.12 in morning trading on Nasdaq. The stock had risen more than 5 percent on Monday after the company updated its financial guidance.
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